Methods, apparatus and products useful in the operation of a sucker rod pump during the production of hydrocarbons

ABSTRACT

Apparatus, methods and products for monitoring/controlling a reciprocating well producing hydrocarbons from a wellbore, which determine the surface card from a well operating characteristics, determine the downhole card, and display both at the same scale for position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to apparatus, methods and products for theproduction of hydrocarbons. In another aspect, the present inventionrelates to methods, apparatus and products for the production ofhydrocarbons with sucker rod pumps. In even another aspect, the presentinvention relates to methods, apparatus and products useful in theoperation of a sucker rod pump during the production of hydrocarbons.

2. Description of the Related Art

Hydrocarbons are often produced from wellbores by sucker rod pumps.

These “sucker rod” pumps are reciprocating pumps driven from the surfaceby pumping units that move a polished rod up and down through a packinggland at a wellhead. The unit may be of the predominant beam type or anyother type that reciprocates the polished rod. For example, a beampumping unit utilizes a walking beam pivotally mounted on a Samson postwith one end of the beam being attached to the rod and with the beambeing reciprocated by a drive unit. The drive unit consists of a primemover connected to a reduction unit that drives a crank to reciprocatethe walking beam.

The polished rod extends, via a sucker rod string, to a cylinder above,below, or in a portion of an oil producing strata. The sucker rod stringis connected to a downhole pump. This downhole pump generally includes aplunger within the cylinder, the plunger including a checkvalve allowingliquids to pass upward through the valve but not downward. This checkvalve is referred to as a traveling valve. A second check valve islocated at the bottom the cylinder that allows liquids to enter thecylinder but not leave the cylinder in the downward direction. Thesecond check valve is referred to as a standing valve. Raising thepolished rod therefore lifts the plunger, draws liquids into thecylinder through the standing valve, and lifts the cylinder contentsabove the plunger up through a tubing string toward the surface. Thedown stroke of the polished rod lowers the plunger, allowing thecontents of the cylinder below the traveling valve to pass through thevalve to above the traveling valve.

While sucker rod pumps are relatively simple units, they are generallyexpensive to provide and maintain.

Repair of seals around the plunger, standing valve, or traveling valverequire lifting of the entire down-hole unit by the sucker rod or tubingstring to the surface. It is not unusual to have a mile or more ofsucker rods or tubing that must be lifted and disassembled by one or twotwenty five or thirty foot long sections at a time. This repair iscostly in terms of repair labor and parts cost, and in the terms of lostrevenue from the well.

Power requirements of the sucker rod pump are also not insignificant,and are greatly effected by the efficiency at which the unit isoperating.

Because the marginal additional cost of a larger sucker rod pump isnegligible compared to the time value of money realized by producing oilfrom the well at a faster rate, sucker rod pumping units are typicallydesigned to pump slightly more than the well can produce. Consequently,sucker rod pumps therefore eventually run out of liquids to pump, anddraw gas into the cylinders through the standing valves, a conditionknown as running pumped off.

This term “pumped-off” is used to describe the condition where the fluidlevel in the well is not sufficient to completely fill the pump barrelon the upstroke. On the next downstroke the plunger will impact thefluid in the incompletely filled barrel and send shock waves through therod string and other components of the pumping system. This can causeharm to the pumping system such as broken rods or damage to the driveunit or downhole pump.

To minimize running pumped off, sucker rod pumps are generally operatedwith some type of controller. These controllers are either simplecontrollers designed not to detect a pump off condition, but rather toavoid an estimated pump off condition, or are more sophisticatedpump-off controllers designed to detect when a well pumps off and toshut the well down.

An example of these simple controllers are clock timers that start andstop the pumping unit in response to a set program designed to avoid apump off condition. For example, if 2 hours of pumping results in apumped off condition, and it will take 5 hours for sufficient fluid toenter the casing, then the time clock would run the pump for 2 hours (orslightly less to be conservative), and then shut the pump off for 5hours (or slightly more to be conservative), with 2 hour on/5 hour offcycle continuing until conditions warranted a change. Unfortunately,these simple clock timers are not responsive to changing conditions,such as changes in the reservoir, or the occurrence of abnormaloperating conditions. Such a changing condition may occur, with thetimer continuing its on/off cycle until human intervention (which may belong after damage to the pump has occurred).

These abnormal conditions of sucker rod pump operation can also bedetrimental to the pump, and the well efficiency, and many of theseabnormal conditions can be detected by accurate monitoring of the pumpoperation. For example, a few of the abnormal conditions include,running pumped off, tubing movement, fluid pound, gas interference,inoperative pump, pump hitting up or down, bent barrel, sticking pump,worn plunger or traveling valve, worn standing valve, worn or splitbarrel, fluid friction, and drag friction. As many of these problemsgradually appear and progressively worsen, early detection of theseproblems can often minimize the cost of maintenance, minimize the costof inefficient operation, and prevent or minimize the loss ofproduction.

As could be guessed, numerous methods have therefore been proposed tomonitor and control sucker rod pump operation.

An example of the more sophisticated pump-off controllers designed todetect when a well pumps off and to shut the well down, include the verycommon commercially available controllers that monitor work performed,or something that relates to work performed, as a function of polish rodposition. This information can be used to determine, for example, if theliquids are pumped off, or if valves are leaking or stuck, and canprovide data useful in trouble shooting a wide variety of otherproblems.

This information is generally presented in the form of a plot (as bothare measured at the surface) of load vs. rod string displacement (orposition) on the rod string. For a normally operating pump, the shape ofthis plot (known as a “surface card”), is generally an irregularfootball shape. The area inside of this rectangle is proportional to thework being performed. Many pump off controllers utilize a plot such asthis to determine when the sucker rod pump is pumped off, and thenshutdown the pump for a time period when a criteria indicating the pumpis not filling. Criteria that have been suggested include load at afixed position in the downstroke, maximum load, and area inside of therectangle (often referred to as the surface card area).

The following are but a few of the many patents in this area ofutilizing a surface card for control of a sucker rod pump.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,209, issued Apr. 20, 1976 to Gibbs,describes a controller that measures at the surface both the load on therod string and the displacement of the rod string. From thesemeasurements, one can obtain a surface card and the area of the cardwill be the power input to the rod string. Since the pumping system willbe lifting less fluid when the well pumps off, the power input to therod string will also decrease. The decrease in power will result in adecrease in the area of the surface dynamometer card. This decrease inarea is used as an indication of a pump-off condition and the pumpingunit is shut down.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,006,044, 5,362,206 and 5,372,482 disclose methods tomonitor electric motor power consumption as an indicator of work beingperformed by the sucker rod pump.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,224,834, 5,237,863, 5,252,031, and 5,314,016 disclosevarious method to monitor and control sucker rod pumps using a straingauge either located on the polish rod or on the beam of a beam pumpingunit as an indicator of load. A common shortcoming of the beam-mountedstrain gauges is the inability of the strain gauges to differentiatebetween strain caused by load on the beam or metal and strain caused bychanging temperature of the metal. This problem is particularlynoticeable when the strain gauge is mounted on the beam rather than thepolish rod. The beam is otherwise a convenient place to mount the straingauge for reasons that include less movement of the conduits to thegauge, and less need to remove the gauge when maintenance is performedon the pumping unit. The apparent load of the plot of load vs. positionwill therefore change due to variables such as temperature.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,583,915 and 5,423,224 suggest apparatus and methods totemperature compensate strain gauge measurements for changes intemperature. Both of these patents suggest methods that essentiallyzero-out changes in a measured parameter over a long time period so thatslow drifts will be compensated out of the strain gauge output, whereasmajor changes will not immediately be compensated out, thus permittingthe monitoring and control system to function without significant driftdue to temperature changes. Because these systems eventually zero outall changes, the absolute level of load is never known, and even theload relative to a datum is not known. Further, these methods generallyselect one load measurement to hold constant. The maximum load, minimumload, and average load have all been used, and each has disadvantages.Generally, the maximum load will vary at the start of a pump off cycle,but be more consistent near the end of the cycle. The end of the pumpoff cycle is when it is most important to have reliable information toknow if criteria for shutting down the pump is reached, but it wouldalso be desirable to have accurate load compensation at the beginning ofthe pump cycle.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,210 discloses a pump-off controller that monitorsthe load on the polished rod at a set position in the downstroke.Pump-off is detected when the load exceeds a preset level at that setposition. U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,915 discloses a pump-off controller thatmonitors an area outside the surface dynamometer card. Moreparticularly, the patent discloses monitoring an area between theminimum load line and the load line at the top of the stroke. Otherpump-off controllers have monitored the electrical current drawn by thedrive motor to detect pump-off.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,094 discloses a pump-off controller that monitorsthe instantaneous speed of revolution of the drive motor during acomplete or portion of the cycle of the pumping unit. Pump off is sensedby calculating a motor power from measured speed which is less than themotor power corresponding to a completely filled pump barrel. Both thesurface load and position of the rod string can also be determined fromthe monitored instantaneous speed of the drive motor.

A major disadvantage of all of these “surface card” methods, is that thesurface card is not always an accurate representation of the downholerod string displacement (or position) and the downhole load on the rodstring. Use of the surface card introduces errors caused by ambiguitiesin the surface card, the obscuring effects of downhole friction alongthe rods, as well as numerous other factors.

A more accurate representation, would be to utilize a “downhole card,”that is, a plot (as both are measured downhole) of load vs. rod stringdisplacement (or position). As these measurements are not possible toeasily obtain, methods exist to estimate this downhole card.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,031 utilizes the surface determinationof load and displacement of the rod string (by monitoring the positionof the crank arm that reciprocates the walking beam) to calculate thedownhole card.

As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,482, discloses the use of anaccelerometer in the calculation of the downhole pump card.

The downhole pump card can also be obtained using other methodsincluding the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,409, whichutilizes surface measurements of load and position of the rod string toconstruct a downhole pump card. The downhole card is obtained by the useof a computer to solve a mathematical expression described in thepatent.

Of course, an alternative is to construct an analog circuit of thepumping system. It will be appreciated that while an analog circuitprovides an instantaneous downhole card, it is unique to the particularpumping system, and would have to be extremely sophisticated to accountfor any changes in the system.

However, in spite of the above advancements, there still exists a needin the art for apparatus, methods, and products for monitoring and/oroperating a reciprocating well.

There is another need in the art for apparatus, methods, and productsfor monitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, which do notsuffer from the disadvantages of the prior art apparatus and methods.

There is even another need in the art for apparatus, methods, andproducts for monitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, whichprovide for near real time generation of a downhole card.

There is still another need in the art for apparatus, methods, andproducts for monitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, whichallow for the concurrent viewing of the surface card and the downholecard.

There is yet another need in the art for apparatus, methods, andproducts for monitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, whichprovide graphical representation of the surface card and the downholecard in which the viewable graphical representation, the axis on thesurface card representing position is at the same scale as the axis onthe downhole card representing position.

There is even still another need in the art for apparatus, methods, andproducts for monitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, whichutilize surface card data and/or downhole card data in the operation ofthe well.

These and other needs in the art will become apparent to those of skillin the art upon review of this specification, including its drawings andclaims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide for apparatus,methods, and products for monitoring and/or operating a reciprocatingwell, which do not suffer from the disadvantages of the prior artapparatus and methods.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for monitoringand/or operating a reciprocating well, which provide for near real timegeneration of a downhole card.

It is even another object of the present invention to provide forapparatus, methods, and products for monitoring and/or operating areciprocating well, which allow for the concurrent viewing of thesurface card and the downhole card.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide formonitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, which providegraphical representation of the surface card and the downhole card inwhich the viewable graphical representation, the axis on the surfacecard representing position is at the same scale as the axis on thedownhole card representing position.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide formonitoring and/or operating a reciprocating well, which utilize surfacecard data and/or downhole card data in the operation of the well.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent tothose of skill in the art upon review of this specification, includingits drawings and claims.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provideda system for monitoring a reciprocating pump producing hydrocarbons froma wellbore extending from the surface into the subterranean. The systemgenerally includes a data gathering system to monitor a surfaceoperating characteristic of the pumping system. The system also includesa processor in communication with the data gathering system, wherein theprocessor further comprises software that when executed utilizes theoperating characteristic to determine the surface card, determines thedownhole card, and generates a graphics signal representative of thesurface card and the downhole card. The system finally includes anoutput system in communication with the processor, which upon receipt ofthe graphics signal from the processor provides a viewable graphicalrepresentation of both the surface card and the downhole card, whereinfor the viewable graphical representation an axis on the surface cardrepresenting position is at the same scale as an axis on the downholecard representing position.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into thesubterranean. The method includes monitoring an operating characteristicof the well at the surface. The method also includes generating asurface card utilizing the operating characteristic. The method evenalso includes generating a downhole card, and finally includesgenerating a viewable graphical representation of both the surface cardand the downhole card, wherein for the viewable graphical representationan axis on the surface card representing position is at the same scaleas an axis on the downhole card representing position.

According to even another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a system for monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into thesubterranean. The system generally includes a computer receiving dataregarding an operating characteristic of the pump, and comprisingsoftware that when executed instruct the system to: generate a surfacecard utilizing the operating characteristic; generate a downhole card;and generate a viewable graphical representation of both the surfacecard and the downhole card, wherein for the viewable graphicalrepresentation an axis on the surface card representing position is atthe same scale as an axis on the downhole card representing position.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon aplurality of instructions for monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into thesubterranean. The instructions when executed by a computer instruct thecomputer to: generate a surface card utilizing an operatingcharacteristic of the pump; generate a downhole card; and generate aviewable graphical representation of both the surface card and thedownhole card, wherein for the viewable graphical representation an axison the surface card representing position is at the same scale as anaxis on the downhole card representing position.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a propagated signal comprising a plurality of instructions formonitoring a reciprocating pump producing hydrocarbons from a wellboreextending from the surface into the subterranean. The instructions whenexecuted by a computer instruct the computer to: generate a surface cardutilizing an operating characteristic of the pump; generate a downholecard; and generate a viewable graphical representation of both thesurface card and the downhole card, wherein for the viewable graphicalrepresentation an axis on the surface card representing position is atthe same scale as an axis on the downhole card representing position.

According to even still another embodiment of the present invention,there is provided a system for monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into thesubterranean. The system generally includes a data gathering system tomonitor a surface operating characteristic of the pumping system. Thesystem also includes a database of ideal downhole cards. The system evenalso includes a processor in communication with the data gatheringsystem and the database, wherein the processor comprises software thatwhen executed utilizes the operating characteristic to determine thesurface card, determines the downhole card, and generates a graphicssignal representative of the surface card and the downhole card, andwherein the processor further comprises software that when executedmakes a comparison of the downhole card against the database andgenerates a comparison signal dependent upon the comparison. The systemfinally includes an output system in communication with the processor,which upon receipt of the graphics signal from the processor provides aviewable graphical representation of both the surface card and thedownhole card, wherein for the viewable graphical representation an axison the surface card representing position is at the same scale as anaxis on the downhole card representing position.

According to even yet another embodiment of the present invention, thereis provided a method of monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into thesubterranean. The method includes monitoring an operating characteristicof the well at the surface. The method also includes generating asurface card utilizing the operating characteristic. The method furtherincludes generating a downhole card. The method finally includescomparing the downhole card to a database of ideal downhole cards, andgenerating a comparison signal based on the comparing.

According to still even another embodiment of the present invention,there is provided a system for monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into thesubterranean, the system comprising a computer receiving data regardingan operating characteristic of the pump, and comprising software. Whenexecuted, the software instructs the system to: generate a surface cardutilizing the operating characteristic; generate a downhole card;compare the downhole card to a database of ideal downhole cards, andgenerating a comparison signal based on the comparing.

According to still yet another embodiment of the present invention,there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having storedthereon a plurality of instructions for monitoring a reciprocating pumpproducing hydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface intothe subterranean. The instruction when executed by a computer instructthe computer to: generate a surface card utilizing the operatingcharacteristic; generate a downhole card; compare the downhole card to adatabase of ideal downhole cards, and generating a comparison signalbased on the comparing.

According to yet even another embodiment of the present invention, thereis provided a propagated signal comprising a plurality of instructionsfor monitoring a reciprocating pump producing hydrocarbons from awellbore extending from the surface into the subterranean. Theinstruction when executed by a computer instruct the computer to:generate a surface card utilizing the operating characteristic; generatea downhole card; compare the downhole card to a database of idealdownhole cards, and generating a comparison signal based on thecomparing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of well unit 100 of the presentinvention, including pumping system 110, data gathering system 120,processor 130, and output system 140.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of well unit 100of the present invention, including a conventional beam unit pumpingsystem 110, data gathering system 120, processor 130, and output system140.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of one monitoring method 200 of thepresent invention, showing step 202 of gathering the data necessary togenerate the surface card; step 205 of generating the surface card; andstep 207 of generating the downhole card, and step 210 of outputting thesurface and downhole cards.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of one control method 300 of thepresent invention, showing step 302 for gathering the data necessary togenerate the surface card, step 305 for generating the surface card,step 307 for generating the downhole card, comparison step 308 formatching the downhole card with “ideal” downhole cards, step 314 forgenerating a “no match signal” if there is no match, step 309 forgenerating a signal based on which ideal card or combination of cardswere matched, and output step 310 includes outputting the surface anddownhole cards.

FIGS. 5A thru 5L show “ideal” downhole card shapes, with FIG. 5Arepresenting a full pump, FIG. 5B representing tubing movement, FIG. 5Crepreseting fluid pound, FIG. 5D representing gas interference, FIG. 5Erepresenting flowing well, rod part, or inoperative pump, FIG. 5Frepresenting pump hitting up or down, FIG. 5G representing bent barrelor sticking pump, FIG. 5H representing worn plunger or traveling valve,FIG. 5I representing worn standing valve, FIG. 5J representing worn orsplit barrel, FIG. 5K representing fluid friction, and FIG. 5Lrepresenting drag friction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be described by reference to the drawings.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic representation ofwell unit 100 of the present invention, including pumping system 110,data gathering system 120, processor 130, and output system 140.

Data gathering system 120 is in communication with pumping system 110and processor 130, by communication link 111 and communication link 121,respectively. Processor 130 is in communication with output system 140by communication link 131, and optionally in communication with pumpingsystem 110 by communication link 132. It should be understood thatcommunication links 111, 121, 131 and 132 can be physical wire links ormay be wireless links. These links may include one or more types oflinks, for example, phone line, network, Internet, and wireless.

It should also be understood that while data gathering system 120,processor 130, and output system 140 are shown as separate boxes in FIG.1, any two, or perhaps all three can be incorporated into one physicalunit. Additionally, pumping system 110, could also be configured tophysically include one or more of these.

Pumping system 110 may be any suitable pumping system as is known in theart. While the present invention is shown illustrated in FIG. 2 with aconventional beam unit as pumping system 110, it should be understoodthat the present system should not be so limited and is intended toinclude but not be limited to any system that reciprocates a rod string,non-limiting examples of which include, tower type units which involvecables, belts, chains and hydraulic or pneumatic power systems. Asanother non-limiting example, rotating pumping systems, for exampleprogressive cavity pumps, could also be utilized as pumping system 110.

Data gathering system 120 may be any suitable data gathering system forgathering the operating characteristic(s) of the pumping systemnecessary for determining the surface card. As described above, in theBackground of the Invention, there are a number of different types ofmethods for determining the surface card, and each of these types ofmethods require the gathering of different operating characteristics. Asnon-limiting examples, one method requires monitoring of electric motorpower consumption, another requires use of a strain gauge either locatedon the polish rod or on the beam of a beam pumping unit as an indicatorof load, and even another utilizes temperature to differentiate betweenstrain caused by load on the beam or metal and strain caused be changingtemperature of the metal. Thus, data gathering system will includesuitable apparatus for gathering the necessary operating characteristicrequired by the particular surface card method utilized.

Preferably, data gathering system 120 is not just temporarily gatheringdata from pumping system 110, as in a test, but rather gathers data frompumping system on a regular and on-going basis as part of the normaloperations of pumping system 110.

Data gathering system 120 is considered to be permanently positioned andgathering data from pumping system on a regular and on-going basis aspart of the normal operations of pumping system 110, in contrast to aone-time or merely short duration of data gathering with easilyremovable and portable data gathering equipment.

Processor 130 utilized in the present invention will be any processorsuitable to produce the surface card and downhole card from the dataprovided by data gathering system 120. It should be understood that thepresent invention is not to be limited to any particular type ofcomputer, but rather, processor 130 may be one or more processingsystems including, but not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU),memory, storage devices, communication links, communication devices,servers, I/O devices, or any subcomponents or individual parts of one ormore processing systems, including software, firmware, hardware or anycombination or subcombination thereof, which embody the invention as setforth in the claims. User input may be received from the keyboard,mouse, pen, voice, touch screen, or any other means by which a human caninput data to a computer, including through other programs such asapplication programs. One skilled in the art of computer science willeasily be able to combine the software created as described withappropriate general purpose or special purpose computer hardware tocreate a computer system and/or computer subcomponents embodying theinvention and to create a computer system and/or computer subcomponentsfor carrying out the method of the invention.

Optionally, processor 130 may generate signals 132 to either controlpumping system 110 or to provide instructions to an operator of pumpingsystem 110.

Like data gathering system 120, processor 130 is preferably not justtemporarily processing data, as in a test, but rather receives andprocesses data from pumping system on a regular and on-going basis aspart of the normal operations of pumping system 110.

Processor 130 is considered to be permanently positioned and processingdata from pumping system on a regular and on-going basis as part of thenormal operations of pumping system 110, in contrast to a one-time ormerely short duration of data processing with easily removable andportable data processors.

Output system 140 includes any type of device or devices for producing agraphical representation of the surface and downhole cards viewable bythe human eye, including but not limited to, a display screen, aprojector, printer, holograph, and the like.

Like data gathering system 120 and processor 130, output system 140 ispreferably not just temporarily providing viewable graphics, as in atest, but rather displays graphics on a regular and on-going basis aspart of the normal operations of pumping system 110.

Output system 140 is considered to be permanently positioned anddisplaying data from pumping system on a regular and on-going basis aspart of the normal operations of pumping system 110, in contrast to aone-time or merely short duration of data displaying with easilyremovable and portable output devices.

Output system 140 will also be suitable for receiving a graphical markerapplied to the graphical displays of the surface and/or downhole cards.Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a plot of a surface card and adownhole card plotted on the same x-y axis, with the surface cardpositioned over the downhole card. One graphical marker, the “*”represents a pumpoff setpoint and the other graphical diamond is amalfunction setpoint. These are representative non-limiting exaples ofgraphical markers that can be used to set control points or markprocessor calculated indicators.

As one advantage of the present invention, graphical representations ofthe surface card and the downhole card are generated at the well site toprovide for a more efficient well operation. Preferably, both thesurface card and the downhole card are concurrently displayed eitherwith both on the same screen, or with one each on two different screens.

As another advantage of the present invention, these well site generatedrepresentations of the surface card and the downhole card are providedwith the same scale, thus allowing for direct comparisons between thecards. Preferably, the axis representing position (traditionally thex-axis or horizontal axis) is at the same scale for both the graphicalrepresentations of the surface card and the downhole card. Morepreferably, the axis representing position (traditionally the x-axis orhorizontal axis) is at the same scale for both the graphicalrepresentations of the surface card and the downhole card, and the axisrepresenting load on the rod (traditionally the y-axis or vertical axis)is at the same scale for both the graphical representations of thesurface card and the downhole card.

As even another advantage of the present invention, these well sitegenerated representations of the surface card and the downhole card aregenerated/updated are generated/updated in near real time. As usedherein, “near real time” generally means within 24 hours of the datagathering, preferably within 12 hours of the data gathering, morepreferably within 4 hours of the data gathering, even more preferablywithin 1 hour of the data gathering, still more preferably within 10pump cycles or reciprocations (i.e., a pump cycle or reciprocation isone up and down stroke of the polished rod) of the data gathering, yetmore preferably within 5 pump cycles of the data gathering, even stillmore preferably within 2 pump cycles of the data gathering, and even yetmore preferably within 1 pump cycle of the data gathering.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown one embodiment of well unit 100of the present invention, including a conventional beam unit pumpingsystem 110, data gathering system 120, processor 130, and output system140.

Pumping unit 10 has a walking beam 11 which reciprocates a rod string 12for actuating the downhole pump disposed at the bottom of well 13. Thepump is a reciprocating type having a plunger attached to the end of therod string and a barrel which is attached to the end of (or is part of)the production tubing in the well. The plunger has a traveling valve anda standing valve is positioned at the bottom of the barrel. On theupstroke of the pump, the traveling valve closes and lifts the fluidabove the plunger to the top of the well and the standing valve opensand allows additional fluid from the reservoir to flow into the pumpbarrel. On the downstroke, the traveling valve opens while the standingvalve closes allowing the fluid in the pump to pass upward through theplunger into the production tubing.

Walking beam 11 is reciprocated by crank arm 14 which is attached towalking beam 11. Crank arm 14 is provided with counterweight 15 thatserves to balance the rod string that is also suspended from the walkingbeam. The crank arm 14 is driven by an electric motor 20 connected to agear reduction 21.

Although the present invention is not so limited, the embodiment asshown utilizes the operating characteristic of instantaneous motor speedwhich is indicated as a signal 111 and as another operatingcharacteristic the monitored position of the pumping unit to helpdetermine when the well is pumped off. The position of the pumping unitcan be detected by sensor 23 of data gathering system 120 which detectsthe passage of the crank 14 of the pumping unit. This sensing unit canbe either magnetic or Hall effect type unit, or it could be a switchwhich is closed by the passage of the crank or counterweight. Thisembodiment can also be implemented with direct measuring positiontransducers.

The load and motor speed and crank sensor signals are supplied processor130, which then generates the surface card and downhole card. Displayscreen 140 provides a graphical representation of the surface card anddownhole card concurrently, to the same scale, and in near real time.Optionally, processor 130 can generate a signal 132 to provide controlto motor 20, depending upon the surface card and the downhole card.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is provided a schematic representation ofone monitoring method 200 of the present invention. This monitoringmethod 200 generally includes one or more of the following steps: step202 of gathering the operating characteristic(s) necessary to generatethe surface card; step 205 of generating the surface card; and step 207of generating the downhole card, and output step 210 of outputting thesurface and downhole cards.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic representation ofone control method 300 of the present invention. This controlling method300 generally includes one or more of the following steps. Step 302includes gathering the operating characteristic(s) necessary to generatethe surface card, step 305 includes generating the surface card, andstep 307 includes generating the downhole card. Next, comparison step308 includes matching the downhole card with “ideal” downhole cards, ifthere is no match, step 314 includes generating a “no match” indication,and if there is a match, signal step 309 includes generating a signalbased on which ideal card or combination of cards were matched. Finally,output step 310 includes outputting the surface and downhole cards.

Optionally, the output steps of both monitoring method 200 (i.e., step210) and of controlling method 300 (i.e., step 310), may includegenerating graphical representations of the surface card and thedownhole card at the well site to provide for a more efficient welloperation.

Also optionally, the output steps of both monitoring method 200 (i.e.,step 210) and of controlling method 300 (i.e., step 310), may includeconcurrently displaying the surface card and the downhole card at thewell site, either with both on the same screen, or with one each on twodifferent screens.

Even also optionally, the output steps of both monitoring method 200(i.e., step 210) and of controlling method 300 (i.e., step 310), mayinclude generating well site representations of the surface card and thedownhole card to the same scale, thus allowing for direct comparisonsbetween the cards.

Still also optionally, the output steps of both monitoring method 200(i.e., step 210) and of controlling method 300 (i.e., step 310), mayinclude generating/updating these well site generated representations ofthe surface card and the downhole card in near real time.

For comparison step 308 of controlling method 300, the downhole card ismatched against “ideal” downhole cards. This matching may beaccomplished by any manner as known to those of skill in the art,non-limiting examples of which include numerically or by patternrecognition. Non-limiting examples of “ideal” downhole cards are shownin FIGS. 5A thru 5L, with FIG. 5A representing a full pump, FIG. 5Brepresenting tubing movement, FIG. 5C represeting fluid pound, FIG. 5Drepresenting gas interference, FIG. 5E representing flowing well, rodpart, or inoperative pump, FIG. 5F representing pump hitting up or down,FIG. 5G representing bent barrel or sticking pump, FIG. 5H representingworn plunger or traveling valve, FIG. 5I representing worn standingvalve, FIG. 5J representing worn or split barrel, FIG. 5K representingfluid friction, and FIG. 5L representing drag friction. It should benoted that a downhole card can match one of the ideal downhole cards, orhave characteristics of a combination of the ideal downhole cards.

Signal generating step 309 will generate a signal based on the whichideal card or combination of cards was matched. This signal may be aninstruction to a human operator or it may be an instruction provideddirectly to well 100.

For example, if the downhole card matches:

-   -   FIG. 5A representing a full pump, then the pump is operating at        ideal;    -   FIG. 5B representing tubing movement, then the tubing needs to        be anchored;    -   FIG. 5C represeting fluid pound, then the pumping speed needs to        be reduced, or temporarily stopped;    -   FIG. 5D representing gas interference, then slow down pumping        speed, or utilize an alternative means to separate gas downhole;    -   FIG. 5E representing flowing well, rod part, or inoperative        pump, then turn pump off, and either allow flow (if there is        flow), or repair part if necessary;    -   FIG. 5F representing pump hitting up or down, then respace the        pump because the standing valve or traveling valve are tagging;    -   FIG. 5G representing bent barrel or sticking pump, then repair        pump;    -   FIG. 5H representing worn plunger or traveling valve, then pull        pump;    -   FIG. 5I representing worn standing valve, then pull pump;    -   FIG. 5J representing worn or split barrel, then pull pump;    -   FIG. 5K representing fluid friction, then there is either        stuffing box friction, rod with paraffin buildup, or trash in        the pump; and    -   FIG. 5L representing drag friction, then the rods are dragging        on tubing and rod guides are needed.

The product of the present invention includes computer readable mediacomprising instructions, or a data signal embodied in a carrier wavecomprising instructions, said instructions which when carried out on acomputer will implement one or more of the method steps of the presentinvention.

Using the foregoing specification, part or all of the present inventionmay be implemented using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques using computer programming software, firmware, hardware orany combination or subcombination thereof. Any such resultingprogram(s), having computer readable program code means, may be embodiedor provided within one or more computer readable or usable media such asfixed (hard) drives, disk, diskettes, optical disks, magnetic tape,semiconductor memories such as read-only memory (ROM), etc., or anytransmitting/receiving medium such as the Internet or othercommunication network or link, thereby making a computer programproduct, i.e., an article of manufacture, according to the invention.The article of manufacture containing the computer programming code maybe made and/or used by executing the code directly from one medium, bycopying the code from one medium to another medium, or by transmittingthe code over a network.

All of the patents and articles cited herein, are herein incorporated byreference for all that they disclose and suggest, including but notlimited to, methods and apparatus for gathering data, determining thesurface card, determining the downhole card, and as relating to the wellunits themselves.

While the illustrative embodiments of the invention have been describedwith particularity, it will be understood that various othermodifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the claimsappended hereto be limited to the examples and descriptions set forthherein but rather that the claims be construed as encompassing all thefeatures of patentable novelty which reside in the present invention,including all features which would be treated as equivalents thereof bythose skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

1-104. (canceled)
 105. A method of monitoring a reciprocating pump (110)producing hydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface intothe earth, comprising the steps of: (A) producing a signalrepresentative of an operating characteristic of the well at thesurface; (B) generating a downhole card utilizing the signalrepresentative of said operating characteristic; (C) displaying aviewable graphical representation of said downhole card on an outputsystem (140) which is permanently positioned in association with saidpump (110).
 106. The method of claim 105 wherein said graphicalrepresentation is displayed on a continuous basis as part of the normaloperation of the method.
 107. The method of claim 106 further comprisingthe step of (D) generating a pump control signal in response to acharacteristic of said downhole card.
 108. The method of claim 107 inwhich the step (D) includes the step of comparing a shape of saiddownhole card to a shape of an ideal downhole card that isrepresentative of an operating condition of the pump.
 109. The method ofclaim 107 further comprising the step of (E) applying the pump controlsignal to the pump.
 110. A system for controlling and monitoring areciprocating pump producing hydrocarbons from a wellbore extending fromthe surface into the subterranean, the system of comprising, a computerarranged and designed to receive data regarding an operatingcharacteristic of the pump, the computer including software that whenexecuted instructs the system to perform the steps of: (A) monitor asignal representative of an operating characteristic of the well at thesurface; (B) generate a downhole card utilizing the operatingcharacteristic; (C) generate a pump control signal based on acharacteristic of said downhole card; and (D) provide a viewablegraphical representation of said downhole card on a permanentlypositioned output system of the computer as part of the normal operationof the system, wherein for the viewable graphical representation an axison the surface card representing position is at a same scale as an axison the downhole card representing position.
 111. The system of claim 110wherein said pump control signal is applied to the pump.
 112. The systemof claim 110, in which instruction (C) generates said pump controlsignal by comparing a shape of said downhole card to a shape of an idealdownhole card that is representative of an operating condition of thepump.
 113. A method of monitoring a reciprocating pump producinghydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface into the earth,comprising the steps of, (A) monitoring an operating characteristic ofthe well at the surface; (B) generating a surface card utilizing theoperating characteristics; (C) generating a downhole card based uponsaid surface card; and (D) generating on a display screen permanentlypositioned in proximity of said pump a viewable graphical representationof both the surface card and the downhole card, wherein for the viewablegraphical representation an axis on the surface card representingposition is at the same scale as an axis on the downhole cardrepresenting position.
 114. The method of claim 113, further comprising:(E) adjusting the operation of the pump if warranted based on acharacteristic of the downhole card.
 115. The method of claim 114, inwhich step (E) includes the substep of comparing the downhole card toideal downhole cards.
 116. A system for monitoring a reciprocating pumpproducing hydrocarbons from a wellbore extending from the surface intothe earth, comprising, a computer which receives data regarding anoperating characteristic of the pump, the computer including softwarethat when executed instructs the system to: (A) generate a surface cardutilizing the operating characteristic; (B) generate a downhole cardbased upon said operating characteristic; and (C) generate a viewablegraphical representation of the downhole card on a display screenpermanently placed in proximity to the pump, wherein for the viewablegraphical representation an axis for the surface card representingposition is at the same scale as an axis for the downhole cardrepresenting position.
 117. The system of claim 116, wherein saidsoftware further instructs the system to: (D) generate a control signalto adjust the operation of the pump if warranted based on acharacteristic of at least said downhole card.
 118. The system of claim117, in which said software generates said control signal by comparingthe downhole card to at least one ideal downhole card.